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Senate Democrats have some good news in an unlikely state. And I interview LA Mayor Karen Bass about her mayoral campaign. I'm Brian Tyler Cohen and you're listening to no Lie. So we've got a rare strategic win in a very unlikely state. That's the state of Nebraska. So here's the deal. There are two top candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in Nebraska. One candidate is a guy named William Forbes. He is anti abortion, voted for Donald Trump and attended conservative candidate trainings. So if it sounds like he's a plant intended to ultimately boost incumbent Republican Senator Pete Ricketts chances, that sounds about right. But the other candidate is Cindy Burbank. She's a pharmacy technician, community college instructor from Omaha. But Cindy's race is interesting because she has indicated that she would drop out of the general election to allow independent candidate Dan Osborne a head to head race against Ricketts. And the numbers, by the way, would suggest that that's a good idea. According to a brand new poll, if Democrat Cindy Burbank ran against Pete Ricketts, she would trail him 49 to 38. But if independent Dan Osborne ran against Ricketts, he actually leads him 46, 42. So that would suggest that it would be very beneficial to have Dan Osborne run and basically consolidate all support from the left, all support from the middle. However, that only happens if Cindy Burbank is able to defeat this Republican plant, William Forbes. So the good news Tuesday night, that is exactly what happened. Cindy Burbank won the Democratic nomination with more than 90% of the vote, meaning she's the Democratic nominee. And now she's widely expected to immediately step down so that the Democratic voters and independent voters can all consolidate behind one candidate who is not a Republican. So right now we have the ideal situation playing out in Nebraska where polling suggests that the guy who now has a glide path among Democratic voters would win the race if it were held today. But here's the even better Nebraska isn't even the best prospect for the Senate right now. Maine, North Carolina and Alaska all have Democratic candidates polling ahead of the Republican incumbents. And then Democrats would only need to win one of the following Iowa, Ohio, Nebraska or Texas. Which is to say, it is certainly possible that Democrats can take the Senate after midterms. Now comes the buzzkill part. The notion that Republicans will sit idly by while any of this happens is effectively zero. This is a Republican party that waited 60 fucking years to gut the Voting Rights act. And it took them one day to start eliminating virtually all black representation when the Voting Rights act was struck down. A Republican Party that is sitting by and watching as Trump signs executive orders revoking mail in voting and trying to get the voter rolls and sending his henchmen to take ballots from past elections. This guy incited a fucking insurrection, pardoned everybody involved. And the rest of his party can't even bring themselves to say that he lost the 2020 election. These people are fundamentally anti democracy. They'll continue to attack voting rights. They'll close precincts in majority minority districts. They'll kick people off the rolls who are eligible to vote. They'll send masked ICE agents to the. They will do whatever they possibly can because they know that if they control Congress, it gives them a lot of power to allow Trump to continue consolidating power for himself and acting corruptly with impunity. And it allows the Republicans to have a leg up to be able to interfere in the upcoming general election in 2028 if they're a majority in Congress. And I know that it feels hopeless to hear everything that we're up against. I think that's by design. But in fact, I would argue that it should inspire you, because while the window is closing, it's not closed yet. We can take control of the entirety of Congress. We can see some accountability for the first time in years, and we're close to seeing it happen. So that means we work from now until November. Donate where you can doorknock and canvass, where you can make sure that your circles of people are engaged and registered and have a plan to vote and that you're speaking out in your digital spaces and your professional spaces and your personal spaces. Trump and Republicans would not be so desperate if there wasn't a reason for them to be desperate. They're not acting from a place of strength. They are acting from a place of weakness. It's our job to remember that. Next up is my interview with Karen Bass. No Lie is sponsored by BetterHelp. So May is Mental Health Awareness Month. A reminder that whatever you're going through, you don't have to go through it alone. Whatever's keeping you up at night, it's easy to feel like you have to figure it out all by yourself. But the truth is, you nobody has all the answers. And no journey should be alone. Having someone with you to listen, to, understand, to support you can make all the difference. Therapy's helped me immensely. And I'm somebody who's generally against seeking out any help for anything. I generally just want to keep my head down and just figure it out. But there is an easier way and BetterHelp is there for this exact reason. So why BetterHelp? Because of their quality therapists. BetterHelp's therapists work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully licensed in the United States. BetterHelp's therapist match commitment means that they do the initial matching work for you so that you can focus on your therapy goals. 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Thanks for having me on.
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So I want to ask first and foremost, because this has gotten a lot of national attention about Spencer Pratt's rise in this race. There are many folks on the left who say that his rise mirrors Donald Trump's rise in 2016 because of the way that he's been able to kind of game the media, garner attention, be politically incorrect. Can you speak about your reaction to Spencer Pratt's rise in this race and what do you attribute it to?
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Sure. Well, I attribute it to social media and all of the artificial intelligence that has gone in. I mean, I think he has done a blitzkrieg on social media. But I also attribute tapping into the anger that we see going on nationally, of course, tapping into his own personal anger and the tragedy of the Palisades. I absolutely do not want to minimize that. But obviously his anger about the Palisades has gone national because I think he's tapping into national anger and frustration with politics, period. And I think it's sad because when those kind of things happen, it discourages people from participating from believing in their government and also from voting.
B
Well, you know, Spencer has been very outspoken about this idea that you and California Democrats, current leadership are responsible basically for the tragedy that befell him. And so what would your reaction to that be?
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Well, you know, what I have felt about Spencer all along, because I've watched this very closely in the Palisades is I understand obviously his personal tragedy and all of that, but I think that it is really, really sad to on people's grief and to create an atmosphere of nothing is happening and hostility. There were absolutely mistakes. The city really was not prepared for a disaster of that magnitude with a weather event that we had never experienced before. And so hindsight is everything. But this also was not just the city of Los Angeles, the county as well. And when I talked to the fire department afterwards, their response was we are very used to Santa Ana winds, but we have never had anything like this. And so I think that the lesson for me and for Angelinos is that now, given climate change, we have to expect things. I mean, I'm born and raised here, so this is the climate I know. And we now have to expect things that we would have never imagined. But that's just one. I mean, I can go down a list of problems that happen, but. But it's time to help inspire people to get back home. And We've issued over 2600 permits for about 1100 properties. 400 homes are currently under construction now, and people are slowly preparing to move back home.
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You know, in terms of the list of issues in Los Angeles, is it not fair to say that that is a referendum on, in part the fact that you have been mayor for the last several years? And so when somebody like Spencer Pratt comes forward and taps into the anger that people might feel about the issues that are presenting themselves in Los Angeles, how would you respond to people saying, well, this is a referendum on you?
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Well, I mean, I can understand people saying that, but I also think that Angelenos in general will look at the overall progress that has happened in administration. The first time we've had a reduction of homelessness period, 17.5% while it's going up nationally, crime that is down to 1960 levels. 42,000 homes that are been fast tracked for affordable housing, 43,000 that are potential with adaptive reuse, a policy I made now citywide, which means you can change all office buildings into housing. So I think that there have been tremendous accomplishments. But you know, pretty well, I am sure is that a lot of the problems that we face in Los Angeles are 30, 40 year old problems. So if the charges is that in three and a half years I've not changed 30 to 40 year problems. That's correct. But we have made headway in some very significant ways and I would hate to leave now before I am able to finish my job. And there's a lot of areas where I think we have made a difference are definitely put the policies in place to make a difference. And now it's a question of pushing them and evaluating them along the way.
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Okay, so I want to dig into a few of those issues. And these are the same issues that I spoke with Nithya Raman a couple of days ago about. And those issues are homelessness, housing, and Hollywood. So in terms of homelessness, Triple hill. Yeah, that's right. In terms of homelessness here, you said that there has been a 17% reduction. I think Nithya Rahman mentioned that the spending in the last year has been, if I'm not mistaken, $700 million on homelessness, is that correct?
A
Yeah, yeah, more or less. That that's correct. That is not different than previous years.
B
And, and how many people has that impacted? How many people were taken off the street off of that $700 million?
A
Well, there's thousands of people that were taken off the street. But let me just say that there are 46,000 people that are unhoused within our city. And so do we have the resources to clear all of those individuals and put them into housing? New York City made a different decision about 20 years ago, which is why they don't have the level of street homelessness that we do. Our decision here was we were going to build housing. And until we built housing, we were going to leave people on the street. So we could have removed far more people than that. But I have been in battle again with a system that has been in existence for over 30 years, that has been dysfunctional from day one. And my mission in coming in was to get people off the streets. That was my mission. That was my focus. I didn't want to spend a year studying the system. I wanted to act while looking at it at the same time building the plane while flying it. But we have much, much more work to do. But again, this is a system that has been dysfunctional for a very, very long time.
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And so what does the next four years look like, recognizing that you've got one term under your belt already? And the reason that I ask this more broadly is if we've spent $700 million to tackle homelessness in just the last year. And yes, thousands of people have been taken off the streets, and that is objectively a Good thing. But if you look at the amount of money that's spent per person, I mean, that's what upsets people. I think in large part, when you look at, when you divide the total number of spending by the amount of people who've been impacted here. And so what does success look like over the next four years if you're reelected? What is the plan to take it from 17% to a 50 or 100% reduction?
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Right, right, right. Well, first of all, you know, we started coming up with models to reduce the costs of housing and to reduce the cost of interim housing. And we have been moving forward with that. We need to catapult that. The other thing is, is that, you know, we're in this situation with the county right now and that needs to be resolved, but found is, is that it is easy to get people off the street. When we get them off the street, we turn them over to a community based organization, but they're not provided with adequate services. So when you ask me what does it look like in a second term? Now, I know from acting and studying, I'm very clear about what needs to happen to change this entire situation. But one of the keys that people consistently do not address is the needs of the individual. You know, I used to, in the emergency room, my patients were unhoused. And I have found over the years that people have a lot of academic and theoretical knowledge about this problem. But they have. And they're also experts in housing, but they have very little knowledge about the people, the people, why somebody winds up homeless, how to improve their lives so that they become stable. That's why when LA made that decision 20, 25 years ago, not to focus on getting people off the street, just focus on building. We have the problem that we do now. So what I would do in a next term is basically to end all of the major encampments that you see at the end of four years. What I want the city to look like on this particular issue is that Angelenos would see an individual tent here and there. But encampments would be a way of the past. And it's very easy to resolve a tent here or a tent there. It's much more difficult to resolve an entire encampment because what we have done different, which is the reason it has worked and the reason street homelessness has gone down, is that we get rid of the entire encampment by housing everybody at once. What had been done in the past, why it looked like nothing ever changed, was they would pluck a person here And a person there. And the encampments never went away. So we do absolutely still have encampments, that's for sure. But we have far fewer encampments than we did three and a half years ago.
B
Last question on this point. What happens if there are people within the encampment that don't want to be housed?
A
So, you know, that is a very, very rare experience for us. But usually those are two types of folks. One who are immersed in the criminal element, and that exists, and they should be dealt with. The other are people who are so profoundly ill that half the time they're not even sure that they're homeless. So there's good news on that front that I'm very excited because this is more consistent with who I am. We are finally building and getting ready to open up mental health facilities. The next thing that needs to happen, though, is state policy that allows for involuntary hospitalization. And I'm a big proponent of that. And I realize a lot of people think that's a civil liberties abuse, but the same people who might feel that that's a civil liberties abuse don't seem to object to incarcerating people, because that's exactly what we do. Now, I'm sure you know that that Twin towers is the nation's most expensive mental health institution, and it is a jail. And so I want to see us open up these facilities and begin to house people while I will be working on the state policy. Being in this job, it has served me tremendously that I served in the state legislature and in Congress. I know how those areas work, those institutions work. And by the way, one of the things I've had to do on my journey over these last three and a half years, I've had to get federal policy changed, and I had to get state policy changed, because I know those two institutions. I've been able to do that.
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Yes, and let me just tell you something because I'm born and raised here. I remember when the city was very affordable, but that was one of the problems I started tackling from day one. I declared a state of emergency to get people off the street and about a week later I did Executive Directive 1, which expedited building. It was focused on just affordable housing. But we have taken the lessons learned from that. We've actually applied a lot of those lessons in the Palisades to expedite, to continue to further expedite in the Palisades. We're learning with artificial intelligence and self certification of architects so that things could go faster. The dwp, which is one of the biggest headaches that everybody talks about, is beginning to establish a concierge service because people were getting buildings finished and they would have to wait a year with an empty building waiting for the dwp. These kind of things make me crazy. Development process goes through all these different hands. And God forbid somebody goes on vacation because then they handle your hand your file over to someone completely new who then starts over. So all of that, all that I described is in the midst of changing. I did another executive directive based on these lessons and now we are beginning to change the entire development process so it's more centralized, it's more transparent, so that development can go through. And by the way, the way I believe in doing policy is I bring together the people who are hands on in the field, not the professors, not the academics, the people who are actually doing the work. And I've worked together with them to troubleshoot what the problems are, but to build policy around changing those problems. But once again, these things take a while. And so this is about correcting or blowing up a process that has been in existence for many, many years. You get resistance on all levels. I've gotten a lot of resistance from departments and I've had to change the leadership because it's like either you're going to move past this stuff or you have to move on. But what I have not done is I'm not a flashy person. I'm a workhorse. I'm not a show horse. So I don't run and have press conferences every time I ask somebody to retire. I believe in letting them retire with dignity. I have no reason to destroy their reputation. But it does not mean that I have made changes and I've made plenty of them and more to come.
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In terms of the people who've pushed back, who needed to be replaced, what is the point of pushing back against the reform of a process that makes building easier and simpler in Los Angeles, which is notoriously difficult to build in, why would somebody take a position where, where they don't want the process to be expedited in some way?
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Well, you know what After a while, I call it a virus. But after a while, you work in a bureaucracy and you begin to adopt a lot of this. So with me, they'll tell me, well, we have to do it this way because we've always done that. That's like fingers on a chalkboard. Then it's like, well, the rules say we can't. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Show me the rule in writing. Well, that's going to take a while. Show me the rule in writing. Oh, I can't find it. There's no rule. My line is, is it a felony? If it's not a felony, get it done. But I think the culture of City hall is slow. And no. And most politicians come through and they don't really try that hard to make the changes. This is it for me. I mean, I have viewed the positions I've done over the years. As you know, I didn't have ambition to say, well, I'm doing this and now I'm going to do that. I have been driven by issues. I certainly never planned to leave Congress. I didn't leave Congress because I was tired of it. I left Congress because I was terrified of what was happening here and because I had worked so hard in the 90s against what became mass incarceration. And I was having flashbacks seeing it happen all over again, except for instead of wanting to lock up every young black and brown young person, this backlash was going to be against people in the streets and the push to just round them up and I don't know to do what with them, but I didn't want to see that happen.
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I want to switch over to the last topic here, which is the entertainment industry. Hollywood. This has been a personal focus of mine. I moved here 15 years ago because I love the entertainment industry. I'm not in it anymore, but I still want to see it thrive. All of my friends are part of the entertainment industry. And I've watched as people have left this city and left this state and in some cases left the country to seek work elsewhere where the industry has thrived. And I'm talking the uk, Canada, New Jersey, Atlanta, New Orleans, I mean, New Mexico, you name it. What is being done? Okay, let me ask this first question. What would you like to see in terms of a tax credit to revitalize the industry here in la?
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So let me. Let me just say. Well, let me. I'll answer that. But I also want to tell you my background because this has been an issue that has been near and dear to me for many, many, many years. So we can't do a local tax credit right now. I mean, we just can't. We can't afford to do that big advocate for what happened at the state level. But again, I established an entertainment industry cabinet. I have worked with them through my three and a half years. They've helped me develop policy that they feel will be helpful to the industry. And so I've done that. They wanted the permit fees reduced, they wanted the permits expedited. They wanted a person, one or two individuals with deep knowledge of the city to work as our films are. I even opened it up to them and said, give me resumes of who you want. And they grappled with it and thought about it and argued about it for a long time. And anyway, they decided they didn't want somebody from the industry. They wanted somebody that was immersed in the city and that could expedite the city process. So we have two people that are dedicated to providing concierge service. I reduced the amount of money you have to pay to film here. So for example, at the Griffith park observatory, it was $100,000 to shoot. We've reduced it by 70%. It's 30,000 now. We've opened up a lot of the city's iconic buildings for filming, like our central library, which is magnificent structure, and then also reduced the number of staff that need to be on location. All of those are things that the industry specifically requested. And basically that's now been in place for maybe eight or nine months. But I don't believe in just doing policy and then walking away. I want to know, let's see if it's working, let's see, is it helping? And then we evaluate it and figure out what more we can do. But the industry has been near and dear to me. I'm third generation. My grandmother, who I never met because she died young, worked at what is now the Sony studio. She worked there in 1932. That was during segregation. And she took care of the black actors. She was an entertainer too. But, you know, the. The black. The movies that black people were in were not the best movies. Those were the Tarzan plantation scenes. My mother was involved. My brothers are also involved in ancillary businesses. And years before I ever thought of being an elected official, I was on the board of an organization where there's community represent and studio representation. And we were building out the below the line crafts so young people, the next generation, could learn those crafts. I made a commitment that if I ran, if I was going to win in office, because I started running, then that I would work on tax credits in Sacramento. It was fortunate that in my last term I was speaker of the House. So I was able to do the first tax credit that the state of California had when Arnold was governor. It was a little tiny bit because we were in the middle of a recession, the worst recession since the Great Depression. But the idea was that it was going to increase over time. Those were back in the days when people were just worried about Toronto. And I watch the explosion of all of the states that you mentioned. And then the international side when I went on to Congress, I served on the Judiciary Committee on the intellectual property side. So I was dealing with all of those issues, copyright and wage theft and all that.
B
And so what would you like to see on the state side? In Sacramento we have obviously a gubernatorial race happening right now. The candidates are vying for support for those like myself, for whom the resurrection of the entertainment industry is a major issue. What would you like them to put forward?
A
Well, one, continue if not expand the tax credits, no cap. I think that there's other things that they could do statewide. What I really want to see is federal tax credits. And that's something that is potential with him. That was potential with Arnold because Arnold was an actor. Arnold just didn't want to do it himself because he said if he did it it would look self serving. So he wanted us to do it. So we did it like at 2 in the morning. We slipped it in. But, but a focus on the industry and a promotion of the industry in the states. The challenge that we had with tax credits the first time, again we got it done. But most of the state does not know about the industry. They think it's all Brad Pitt and it's all la. And they don't realize that every single city in this, in the, well, maybe not every city, but every county in the state has entertainment industry business going on that they never even knew was happening. So back when I was there, we spent a lot of time educating the legislators. So if we have a governor who champions it from day one, that will go a long way in getting the cooperation of the legislators. But what I do know from working up there is that whenever you do a big bill, it's always messy. It's like a Christmas tree after it's passed and signed, then you spend the next three or four years cleaning up correcting mistakes or knowledge that you didn't, that you didn't have.
B
Is an uncapped tax credit something that you would advocate for for the next governor?
A
Yeah.
B
No lie is Brought to you by Ethos. So one life lesson that I've sadly learned the hard way is that we can't control what we can't control. And that often includes the health of our loved ones. But what we can control is making sure that we're prepared for that moment when it comes. Which is why life insurance is so important. Ethos makes getting life insurance fast and easy 100% online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same day coverage. There's no medical exam. You just answer a few simple health questions. You can get up to $3 million in coverage. Some policies are as low as 30 bucks a month, and you'll get your lowest rate from their network of trusted carriers. Ethos also has 4.8 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot with over 4000 reviews. So take 10 minutes to get covered today with life insurance through Ethos. Get your free', @ethos.com BTC that is ethos.com BTC application times may vary, rates may vary. And finally, the last question here. What would you like to see different in terms of local reforms that hasn't been implemented yet? I know that you mentioned, you know, lowering some costs, but lowering the amount of people who are required to be on set, and that includes police officers, for example.
A
Yes.
B
What does four years from now, what does success look like in terms of what you've been able to do? And I ask this because I want to stress that it's not just, you know, kind of tinkering around the edges that's going to take this industry back from other cities who are offering the sun and the moon. I mean, when Atlanta had a better tax credit than Los Angeles, the whole industry moved there. And even the UK offered something that was more attractive than Atlanta was offering. And so Marvel, for example, moved from Atlanta over to the uk and so there are not only other states, but entire countries who are vying for this business because it's lucrative. It's sexy. And so with that in mind, like, it's going to take not just some incremental changes, it's gonna take some pretty sweeping changes to grab that industry back from entire countries that are advocating for it.
A
Well, again, you know, everything that I have been doing and will continue to do is with the industry. So the industry is guiding it now. I think that what would be very helpful is expanding that in terms of making sure that all parts of the industry are represented. But I do believe, and when I say the industry, I'm talking about people at all level in terms of the unions. I'm talking about individual producers. I am talking about major studios, too. So I'm not talking about one side. You know, I do think, though, that the way our city functions and the way our budget is, there are a lot of constraints on that. And I have to make sure that the city continues to provide basic city services. And so that is absolutely essential. So, again, what we have done so far has been guided by the industry. I intended to continue taking their guidance. But when you look at states like Georgia, you also have to look at how they provide services, because they don't. And a lot of what we do here is because we're a liberal state that focuses on a social safety net, needs to do it much, much more. But it's a trade off. And I know in the state of Georgia and the Southern states, their concern about their people is qualitatively different that it is here.
B
For those who are looking to help your campaign, where can they go?
A
Oh, they can go to Karenbass.com they can go to Karen Bass for mayor. By the way, we have a very vibrant youth component of high school students and college students. Youth for Bass. We had them, we had a component of that four years ago. Now they're grown up now. This is, this is another wave of young people. So people of all ages can come, they can come down to the headquarters and do phone banking. Of course, you can do phone banking virtually. But, you know, it's fun in a campaign to be physically in, in a location. We walk every weekend. We do have people walking every day, too. So there's a lot of ways for people to participate.
B
And I would just remind everybody who's watching and listening right now that the election here, the primary election here in Los Angeles is going to be June 2nd. So if, if you've gotten your ballot, please make sure to fill them out, send them in or make sure to head to the polls on or before June 2nd. Mayor Bass, I appreciate taking the time.
A
Thank you. Thanks for having me on again.
B
Thanks again to Karen Bass. That's it for this episode. Talk to you on Sunday. You've been listening to no Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen, produced by Sam Graber, music by Wellesley, and interviews edited for YouTube by Nicholas Nicotera. If you want to support the show, please subscribe on your preferred podcast app and leave a five star rating and a review. And as always, you can find me at brianteller Cohen on all of my other channels. Or you can go to briantellercohen.com to learn more.
A
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Release Date: May 14, 2026
Host: Brian Tyler Cohen
Guest: LA Mayor Karen Bass
This episode focuses on a surprising political development in Nebraska giving Senate Democrats hope, and features an in-depth interview with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The discussion covers strategic victories for Democrats, the challenges and tactics of modern elections, and Mayor Bass's record and plans regarding homelessness, housing, and Hollywood’s entertainment industry.
[00:16–06:00]
Democratic Primary Intrigue:
Result:
Warning about Republican Countermeasures:
Call to Action:
Quote:
"Trump and Republicans would not be so desperate if there wasn't a reason for them to be desperate. They're not acting from a place of strength. They are acting from a place of weakness."
— Brian Tyler Cohen, [05:45]
Introduction at [06:01]
Bass attributes challenger Pratt’s rise to social media manipulation, AI, and his ability to tap into both personal and national anger after the Palisades tragedy.
"I think it's sad because when those kind of things happen, it discourages people from participating, from believing in their government and also from voting."
— Karen Bass, [07:08]
She acknowledges city mistakes regarding Palisades disaster response, but notes such disasters were unprecedented:
"We are very used to Santa Ana winds, but we have never had anything like this...now, given climate change, we have to expect things that we would have never imagined."
— Karen Bass, [08:09]
Progress Since the Tragedy:
[09:30–16:02]
Progress:
"If the charges is that in three and a half years I've not changed 30 to 40 year problems. That's correct. But we have made headway in some very significant ways..."
— Karen Bass, [10:15]
Budget & Effectiveness:
Bass’s Philosophy:
"My mission...was to get people off the streets...building the plane while flying it."
— Karen Bass, [12:01]
Second Term Vision:
Mental Health & Services:
"Twin Towers is the nation's most expensive mental health institution, and it is a jail."
— Karen Bass, [16:38]
[17:40–24:46]
Expediting Housing Production:
"Is it a felony? If it's not a felony, get it done."
— Karen Bass, [23:40]
Leadership Changes:
Personal Motivation:
[24:46–35:01]
Tax Incentives & Support:
"What I really want to see is federal tax credits."
— Karen Bass, [29:47]
Industry Roots:
"Everything that I have been doing and will continue to do is with the industry. So the industry is guiding it now."
— Karen Bass, [33:36]
Balancing Support & Services:
On Republican Tactics:
"These people are fundamentally anti democracy. They'll continue to attack voting rights...They will do whatever they possibly can because they know that if they control Congress, it gives them a lot of power..." — Brian Tyler Cohen, [04:35]
On Overcoming Bureaucratic Resistance:
"After a while, you work in a bureaucracy and you begin to adopt a lot of this...my line is, is it a felony? If it's not a felony, get it done." — Karen Bass, [23:15–23:40]
On Housing Policy:
"I bring together the people who are hands on in the field, not the professors, not the academics, the people who are actually doing the work." — Karen Bass, [21:13]
On Social Media and Populism:
"He has done a blitzkrieg on social media...tapping into national anger and frustration with politics, period." — Karen Bass, [06:34]
Vision for LA's Homelessness Problem:
"What I want the city to look like...is that Angelenos would see an individual tent here and there. But encampments would be a way of the past." — Karen Bass, [15:02]
This episode vividly highlights the stakes and strategies for Democrats in 2026, LA’s ongoing battles with housing and homelessness, and what it will take to keep Hollywood thriving in a changing world—offering listeners both context and a call to action.